Storage cabinets



April 10, 1956 J, LEW 2,741,524

STORAGE CABINETS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 15, 1953 INVENTOR. BY (Jose 0Z2 Zem/ a @TJM ATTORNEY April 10, 1956 J L 2,741,524

STORAGE CABINETS Filed April 15, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H62 33 FIG?) 2 2 3 R n fl A 3/ 9 m W f W. @J/ M a L 4. 2:75;: 51: m m v w 8. E;

United States Patent STORAGE CABENETS Joseph Lew, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application April 15, 1953, Serial N0. 348,913

1 Claim. (Cl. 312257) My invention isanimprovement in cabinets, especially cabinets made of parts that can be readily assembled at either the place of manufacture or elsewhere for display or use.

An important object of the invention is to provide a cabinet of suitable material and relatively few parts, of simple design, and shaped so as to be capable of easy connection to give the cabinet its final form and appearance.

A further'object of the-invention is to provide a cabinet' comprising top, bottom, and side-frames to which sheet material and doors can be attached to enclose the entire interior of the cabinet.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the invention are clearly set forth in the ensuing detailed description, taken with the accompanying drawings; and the novel features are defined in the claim; but the structure illustrated is by way of example only and variations in minor respects may be made without departure from the general plan containing the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of main frames and other parts of a cabinet according to my invention, disconnected from one another but in position and readiness to be joined together;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the cabinet on a reduced scale;

Figure 3 is a similar view of the front thereof, also on a reduced scale;

Figure 4 is a plan of the top of the cabinet;

Figure 5 is a vertical section, enlarged, showing how the top of the doors are engaged in the cabinet;

Figure 6 is a similar section showing how the bottoms of the doors are engaged; and

Figures 7 and 8 show details.

The cabinet is made up of a framework covered with sheets of plywood, plastic or other material and doors, to enclose the interior and permit easy access thereto. The framework comprises a top frame 1, bottom frame 2, and side frames 3. The back is closed by a sheet of plywood or the like 4 on the outside and sheets of plywood 5 and 6 are affixed to the lower and upper faces, respectively, of the top and bottom frames 1 and 2. The side frames 3 are also covered on their inner faces by plywood sheets 7. Thus all the plywood or the like is inside of the framework 1 except the rear sheet 4. At the front of the cabinet are the two sliding doors 8.

The top and bottom frames are assembled by joining pieces of wood or other material 9 extending across the cabinet, with pieces 10 extending from front to back. In the middle of these frames, parallel to the sides, is a brace piece 11. The ends of these pieces are fastened together in any suitable fashion. Each side frame consists of front and rear uprights 12 united at the upper and lower ends, respectively, by horizontal pieces or rails 13 and 14; and braces 15 made fast to the uprights 12 in the middle. These parts are also secured together, as

are the pieces 9, 10 and 1 1. The top and bottom frames are placed between the side frames and abut the inner faces of the frames 3; and the horizontal pieces 13 and 14 of the side frames make contact along their inner faces with the outer edges of the pieces 11 of the frames 1 and 2, and are aifixed thereto by fastening members, such as screws or other devices that are passed through the rails 39 of the top and bottom frames from the inner edges of these rails 10, as indicated at 16, into engagement with the pieces 13 and 14. Thus the four frames are made fast to one another. The plywood sheets 5, 6 and 7 cover the inner faces of the four frames fully and the sheet 4 outside extends entirely across the back with its edges flush with the outer faces of the side frames 3.

A horizontal strip 17 is affixed within the cabinet at each side, above the brace 15. This strip can be glued or otherwise affixed to the side sheets and screws or nails can be employed to go through the sheets 7 and fasten the ends of the strip 17. to the uprights 12. These strips can support a shelf and may have holes 18 to carry a-hanger bar across the cabinet to permit clothing and other objects to be suspended thereon.

The lower portions of the uprights 12 have feet 19 at the front and back and on the inner faces of said feet are reinforcing blocks 2% with openings 21 in the lower ends for casters, if desired.

Extending across the cabinet between the side frames 3 at the front is a strip 22 made fast on the sheet 6 covering the bottom frame 5. This strip can easily be secured by screws or nails or otherwise at convenient points. It has a pair of channels 23 in its upper face, one for each of the two doors 8. Also at the front of the cabinet extending from side to side adjacent the top is a channel strip 24, preferably a piece of metal bent longitudinally to present downward a pair of rails 25, with their lower edges bent over towards the inside of the cabinet and then upward so that each rail has an upturned flange 26. See Figure 7. The rails 25 and flanges 25 form upper channels, side by side, directly above the lower channels 23 in the strip 22, and at their upper ends the doors 8 each have a pair of plates or brackets 27 fixed to their rear faces. To the front faces of the brackets are attached rollers 28 on pins or journals 29, and the rollers 28 engage the channels in the strip 24; so as to suspend the doors with their lower edges in the channels 23. The doors can have handles or recesses 36 in their front or outer faces so that they can be moved. When the doors are moved sidewise, they will either open the cabinet at either side or close it completely.

The front uprights 12 project slightly out from the front pieces 9 of the top and bottom frames 1 and 2, and when these four frames are joined, enter vertical grooves 31 in the rear faces of upright pieces of molding 32. This molding is also secured by gluing or otherwise. Afiixed to the front of the top frame 1 is a head piece 33, and to the front of the lower frame 2 is ailixed a foot piece 34. These pieces extend between the molding strips, which may have flat undercut edges 35 in contact with the ends of the head and foot pieces, and give a finished effect. The head and foot pieces can have various ornamental shape or outlines, as desired, and the frames 1 and 2 abut the rear faces of the head and foot pieces.

One of the channels 23 may be formed by a shoulder along the front of the strip 22 and the edges of the foot strip 34. The head and foot pieces should overlap the strips 22 and 24. The doors can have embedded reinforcing strips 36 along their horizontal edges and their vertical edges also, if desired, as shown in Figure 8. These strips are T-shaped in cross-section, but other forms can be utilized and prevent Warping.

The side pieces 32 with head piece 33 and foot piece 34 can be assembled as a separate front frame for the front of the cabinet, and attached as a unit to the top frame 1, bottom frame 2 and side frames 3. The parts making up the front frame can be joined in any suitable manner to unite the head and foot pieces and the sides 32, and the front frame consisting of these parts is made fast to'the top, bottom and side frames by screws, nails,

'pins or other devices inserted through the pieces 9 and uprights 12 from the inner edges thereof, in the same way as indicated at 16 to make the top, bottom and side frames fast to one another.

The entire cabinet can thus be quickly set up. It can be shipped in knock-down form with top, bottom,'front and side frame s detached, and doors unmounted, and the channel strips 22 and 24 and the plates 4, 5, 6, 7 also separate, or secured in place on the top, bottom and side ,framestas may be desired. To assemble and finish the the upper and lower portions of the side frames, fastening devices passing through said side pieces from the inner edges thereof into said portions of said side frames, upright molding strips having grooves receiving the front edges of the side frames and affixed thereto, and head and 4 foot pieces between said molding strips and flush therewith, the top and bottom frames having their front edges setback from the front edges of the side frames and abutting the rear faces of the molding strips and rear faces of the head and foot pieces, respectively, the top and bottom frames also having pieces extending across the front of the cabinet, fastening devices passing through the last 7 named pieces from the inner edges thereof and engaging the head and foot pieces, said cabinet having sheet material fully covering all said frames and sliding doors for the front of said cabinet, said cabinet also having transverse channel strips at the bottom adjacent the rear faces of said molding strips, said doors having their lower edges slidably disposed in said channel strips, and transverse rails with channels therein at the top adjacent the rear faces of said molding strips, the doors having brackets on the rear faces and rollers pinned to said brackets and movable along said channels when the doors are opened or closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 896,671 Swanson Aug. 18, 1908 1,674,913 Morris et al June 26, 1928 2,092,196 Wood Sept. 7, 1937 2,360,451 Stone Oct, 17, 1944 2,368,285 Bollard -Jan.30, 1945 2,558,939

Dorn'oush July -3, 1 951 

